Almost all hypertext systems provide a facility for providing easy and fast access to a user's favorite pages on the World Wide Web ("web pages"). Such a facility is often referred to as a hotlist or a bookmark list. Existing systems depict the bookmark list as a textual list of web page titles (called "bookmarks") in a pull-down menu on a web browser. A typical pull-down menu also permits users to add new bookmarks to the list, update the titles associated with the web pages, and display the updated lists.
An example of how bookmarks are created, displayed, updated, and used to access web sites is demonstrated below using the Netscape Navigator.TM. browser from Netscape Communications Corporation ("Netscape"). Bookmark creation is typically user initiated. First, the user launches a browser program for browsing the Internet. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a user interface 100 for the Netscape Navigator browser from Netscape. Next, the user accesses a web site of interest (i.e., a web site which the user eventually wants to save as a bookmark) by inserting a Universal Resource Locator ("URL") into an "Open Location" dialog box and selecting an "Open" button. The "Open Location" dialog box is typically accessed by selecting an "Open" button 102 on a command bar 104 of the browser user interface 100. FIG. 2 illustrates an Open Location dialog box 200, loaded with a URL 202 for the Sun Microsystems'198 home page. Dialog box 200 also includes a button 204. When button 204 is actuated the browser retrieves the web page indicated by the URL and displays the retrieved web page on the user's computer. FIG. 3 illustrates the February 1996 home page of Sun Microsystems as displayed in the web page viewer section 300 of the browser 100 in response to actuation of button 204.
In order to save the Sun Microsystems home page as a bookmark, the user selects a bookmarks menu item 302 from a menu bar 304. FIG. 4 illustrates a state of the browser 100 after the user has selected the bookmarks menu item 302. As FIG. 4 illustrates, selection of the bookmarks menu item displays a bookmarks pull-down menu 400. The bookmarks pull-down menu consists of two primary components: a command section 402 and a bookmarks section 404. The command section initially displays an "Add Bookmark" command 406 and a "View Bookmark" command 408. In general, the bookmarks section displays all previously saved bookmarks. The bookmarks section displayed in FIG. 4 illustrates a five item list of previously saved bookmarks. In order to save the current web page as a new bookmark, the user selects the "Add Bookmarks" command from the command section 402.
FIG. 5 illustrates a state of the bookmarks pull-down menu 400 after the Sun Microsystems home page has been added as entry 500. Using the techniques discussed above, a user is able to save a bookmark for a favorite web site.
The process of displaying a web page associated with a bookmark is also user initiated. FIG. 6 illustrates the Netscape browser user interface as it displays CNN's Financial Network home page. The example which follows illustrates how a user, who is currently displaying CNN's home page on his or her browser, can use the Sun Microsystems bookmark 500 (FIG. 7) to display Sun Microsystem's home page without using an "Open Location" dialog box. In short, the user positions a pointing device, such as a mouse pointer, over the Sun Microsystems bookmark, and actuates a mouse button to select the bookmark. In response to the user's selection, the browser displays Sun's home page (FIG. 8).
The process of updating a bookmark is also user initiated. First the user selects the "View Bookmarks" command 408 from the command section 402 (FIG. 9). In response to selection of the "View Bookmarks" command, a bookmarks dialog box 1000 with edit control button 1002 is displayed. FIG. 10 illustrates the bookmarks dialog box displayed in response to actuation of the "View Bookmarks" command from the bookmarks pull-down menu. The dialog box 1000 displays a list of the bookmarks currently stored by the browser. The user traverses the list by actuating a slider button 1004. FIG. 11 illustrates a state of the dialog box after the user has traversed the list of bookmarks and has arrived at entry 1100 containing the Sun Microsystems bookmark. By actuating edit button 1002, the dialog box 1000 expands to become dialog box 1200 (FIG. 12). Dialog box 1200 contains additional edit control buttons 1202, 1204, and 1206. Edit control button 1202 allows a user to add a URL to a location field 1208. Edit control button 1204 allows a user to add a new header name to a name field 1210. Edit control button 1206 allows a user to insert a graphical separation image in the list of bookmarks in dialog box 1000 (FIG. 10). A user uses the edit control buttons to update data associated with bookmarks from the bookmark list.
Existing bookmark methods and systems cause four primary problems. First, some page designers do not include titles (for example for purely graphical pages) and therefore there is no text to put into the browser's list of bookmarks. Second, some titles are hard to recognize for users. For example, the web page entitled "Money and Investment Update" is probably most frequently thought of by users as the Wall Street Journal's web page. Third, visually oriented users may not like having to scan large boring lists of text. Finally, illiterate users, for example young children, may not be able to read the lists at all.
Embodiments of the present invention overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.